


The Magician

by ria_green



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Adam and Hogwarts, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Blue prefers the term "magnifier" over Squib, Crossover, F/M, Gansey and King Arthur, Gen, Harry Potter Next Generation, M/M, Magician Adam Parrish, Pre-Slash, Ronan and the Room of Requirement, Squib is a stupid word anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-25
Updated: 2018-05-12
Packaged: 2018-09-26 20:32:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 14,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9921122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ria_green/pseuds/ria_green
Summary: First-year Adam Parrish befriends a corporeal ghost, King Arthur's descendant, and most unlikely of all - Ronan Lynch.





	1. A Knock on the Door

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam gets a letter.

Adam Parrish is magic.

There's no other explanation for the bruises that heal too quickly, worn-out clothing that lasts far longer than it should - or how sometimes when he holds his breath and wishes very hard to remain unseen, his father's angry eyes pass right through him.

No one else knows that he has magic.

His father suspects, calls him strange and freakish, says that he always knew something was _off_ about that boy. But his father is also drunk most days and unwilling to risk his already foundering reputation by spouting off in public that his child has magical powers.

Every so often, his mother will look at Adam with a spark in her eyes. He thinks maybe she knows, maybe she was also a magician once upon a time. But then the slam of a door indicates her husband's return, her eyes go blank, and he is alone again.

Adam spends most of his free time in the library. It's better than going home, and the kids who frequent the library belong to a different species than the ones at school who make fun of him for having an ugly haircut and old clothes. During the summers, the librarians hand out free snacks and prizes for reading a certain number of books. It's good incentive for Adam to teach himself to read a year earlier than the rest of his classmates.

Plus, the librarian who manages the children's section is kind to Adam, even if she tends to frown disapprovingly when he tells her he's there alone. She shows him the fantasy section after he asks for magic books.

The library teaches Adam what to call himself: he's not strange, he's not a freak. He's a magician.

 

Five years later, Adam finds a letter on the doorstop of their trailer. The heavy parchment of the envelope is the nicest paper he's ever seen, and he'd think that there had been a mix-up, that this letter was meant for the nearby Aglionby instead if the address on the front didn't clearly read, "Adam Parrish." In fact, it says more than that, certainly more than the sender should know unless they were watching very carefully, so he tucks the envelope into the waistband of his pants before handing the rest of the mail to his father.

He reads the letter later that night after his parents have gone to sleep. Eyes straining in the faint moonlight from the window, Adam makes out, "Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft...Dear Mr. Parrish...you have a place...We await your reply..."

For one dazzling moment, his heart leaps as he imagines all the possibilities awaiting him at this "Hogwarts Schools of Wizardry." But then Adam sees the other piece of paper in the envelope is a list of required textbooks and materials, and his heart drops. He's been wearing the same set of two pairs of pants and shirts for the last three years; there's no way he can afford tuition for private school.

It would have been nice to meet other wizards and witches his age and learn cool spells and potions, but of course even a magic school has standards. Adam folds the papers back up into the envelope and tucks it into the secret box with his other treasures (a tattered dictionary, a pressed flower, two crumpled dollar bills). 

He'll remember this letter. He'll remember that someone had said they wanted him - Adam Parrish! - for their school.

 

Two weeks later, it turns out that 1. the secret box was not so secret after all, 2. he wouldn't be needing to remember anything anymore, and 3. he was a fool for hoping to leave this place.

Adam watches with trembling lips as his father rips the heavy parchment into small pieces right in front of him. Pacing back and forth, his father demands, "Just who've you been talking to? How does this person know where we put you? What goes on under this roof is this family's business and nobody else's!"

"I didn't say anything," Adam maintains. He thinks he hears someone knocking from far away. His mother is in the master bedroom, but she never interferes with punishments anymore so it can't be her.

"And this, this 'school of wizardry' bullshit!" his father sputters, nearly incoherent with rage. "You've been telling tall tales, boy."

Adam repeats, "I didn't tell anybody anything!"

He closes his mouth with a click. His father stops pacing and turns slowly on his heel. Adam takes a few steps back, but it's already too late. The invisibility trick doesn't work when his father has already noticed him.  

Crack! goes his head against the kitchen counter, and when Adam presses his hand to his temple, his fingertips draw away wet red.

"Get into the ----!" his father orders. Except, Adam can't make out the words. He sees the lips moving, but the ringing in his ears is so loud that he only guesses at his father's intentions after getting a shove in the direction of the bathroom.

Adam drags himself inside the bathroom as his father stomps towards the front door. It appears that the knocking he heard earlier wasn't just in his head. His father is going to tell whoever is there to bugger off, and then he'll be back to punish Adam more. Adam feels too weak to stand, so he crouches on the seat of the toilet with his chin resting on his knees. Gazing at the mirror above the sink, he sees that one side of his head is matted with blood. 

Adam doesn't know if he can heal himself this time. There is such thing as injuries too big to be fixed using magic. He had to go to the hospital when he broke his wrist, and there were so many questions that his father swore they were never going again.

Adam gingerly touches the top of his ear. He thinks this might be too big of an injury for him to handle on his own. But when the door opens and he sees a worried green through blurry eyes, he still remembers enough to slur, "No hospital."

After that, Adam doesn't see or hear much of anything.

 


	2. Here Comes a Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam spends some time in Hospital Wing.

The ringing is gone, is the first thing Adam notices after waking up. The second is that he is laying down on a surprisingly soft bed and feels better than he has in a very long time. And the third is that people are speaking behind the curtain. About Adam.

He hears:

"Barbaric! If the child had gone to a Muggle hospital, he would be permanently deaf in one ear!"

"I was filling in for Hermione. Adam was the last person on her list who hadn't responded yet. We didn't send anyone earlier because we thought he came from a magical household. She's going to be so angry that his case slipped through the cracks."

"His mother had the magic beaten out of her long ago, if she ever had any. At least she was decent enough to not tell her vile husband about the Wizarding World. Now there's a Muggle who deserved an Obliviate, if ever one."

"Wait, I think he's awake!"

Adam composes himself just in time for the curtain to whip open. There are three people, as he had guessed from the conversation: a stern lady with a pointed hat, a kindly nurse, and a bespectacled man with green eyes and black hair.

"Mr. Parrish, how are you feeling?" asks the nurse.

He struggles to sit up against the headboard. "I'm fine."

"Professor Potter has brought you to the hospital wing of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am Minerva McGonagall, the Headmistress," says the stern lady - Headmistress McGonagall. "Ideally, Mr. Potter would have sent you to St. Mungo's, but you expressed a preference for 'no hospitals.' Your injury was within Madam Pomphrey's ability to heal, which is the only reason we allowed this breach in protocol. You've arrived under quite unusual circumstances, Mr. Parrish."

Adam should be apologizing for inconveniencing everyone, but he is struck by her first words.

"Hogwarts. I'm at Hogwarts?"

"You read the letter?" says Professor Potter. Adam risks a quick glance at him.

Those green eyes look familiar. Was he the one at the trailer? Professor Potter doesn't seem as strict as the Headmistress, but his face is a blank unknown. 

"Yes," he answers cautiously.

"We never received a response," Professor McGonagall says.

"I knew I couldn't go," Adam explains. "My family doesn't have the money for private school."

Her strict face softens ever so slightly. "We award generous scholarships, Mr. Parrish. Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it."

"And to be clear, you're aware of what type of schooling we offer?" asks Professor Potter.

Adam looks up at him. "You're magicians."

Professor Potter laughs, transforming his unknowable face into something more open. "Magicians! That's a new one. We call them wizards and witches here, but I suppose 'magician' is a fine term too. You, Adam Parrish, are a wizard. Welcome to Hogwarts." 

Adam - Adam the wizard - risks a small smile back.

 

Madam Pomphrey says that Adam needs to stay under her observation for another week, so Adam lies dutifully in the hospital bed, alternating between deliberately not thinking about what is going on back home and reading the copy of Hogwarts: A History that Professor Potter has loaned to him.

The inside of the front cover states that the book belongs to someone named Hermione Granger. Judging from the thorough annotations in the margins, she also comes from a non-magical background and is very, very clever.

Adam shyly confesses his desire to meet her.

"I'm certain Hermione would quite like to get to know you too, but she won't be back from her Ministry mission for a few more days." At Adam's look of confusion, Professor Potter elaborates, "The Ministry of Magic is the magical government of Britain."

Someone who works for the government probably isn't his age.

"Oh," Adam says with disappointment, "she's an adult?"

"You can have adult friends. I did at your age. And I'd like to think that we are friends. When we're not in class, you can call me Harry. Professor Potter makes me sound stodgy; I've only been out of school myself for a little over a decade."

"Harry," Adam tries experimentally.

"Adam," says Harry in turn. "Good. Now we're friends."

It's easier than Adam thought to make friends. He's never made any before back home. Perhaps it's a magical thing.

Adam is quite content with his lot: one friend under his belt and another to come. But as it so happens, his second friend is not Hermione Granger but a girl named Blue Sargent who introduces herself thusly: "Hi, I'm Blue Sargent, and I'm _not_ a squib."

Adam stares at the stranger who has insinuated herself into his corner of the hospital wing. She's pretty, if strange, and she looks to be the same age as him.

"I'm Adam Parrish. I don't know what a squib is, but I'm sure you would know best whether you were one or not."

"You're a muggleborn! That's alright then, fewer Wizarding prejudices to unlearn," she says, looking much more cheerful. She explains, "A squib is a non-magical person who is born to at least one magical parent. But _I_ can ride a broom better than most of the second years, I'm decent at potions, and my mum Maura - she's one of the three Professors of Divination - says that I'm a magnifier and a mirror. So,  I'm not a squib."  


Adam muses on this for a moment before offering, "Squib sounds like silly word anyway. It doesn't suit you."

"Exactly!" Blue beams. "I like you, Adam Parrish. We should be friends."

So that is how Adam makes his second friend, before she is promptly shooed off by the ever-vigiliant Madam Pomphrey. 

Hermione Granger becomes his third friend. 

She says, "Hello Adam. My name is Hermione Granger. I'm a Professor at Hogwarts and the Head of Muggleborn Relations at the Ministry of the Magic. Harry has told me so much about you. You can call me Hermione." 

"Hi Hermione," he says. "I liked your note in chapter 23 about the incompatibility of electronic devices in magic-dense areas. Did you ever get around to your experiment with electromagnetic fields? Because I have a few suggestions."  


Hermione looks at Harry, who shrugs and says, "I told you that you'd like him." 

She smiles warmly. "Yes, I think that we are going to be very good friends." 

Hermione then immediately betrays this statement by inviting a tall red-headed man into Adam's curtained area. "Ron? You can come in now. Adam, this is my husband - Auror Ron Weasley." Upon seeing his confused expression, she clarifies, "An Auror is like a policeman."

"Oh!" Adam says unhappily. 

His father warned him about those "meddling policemen, sticking their noses into everybody's goddamn business!" He bets magical policemen are even more meddlesome.

"Adam, I'd like to ask you a few questions, if that's alright. Could you tell me how you were injured?"   


"I fell against the counter," he says resolutely, not looking at Harry.  


"You fell," Auror Weasley repeats. 

"Against a counter," Adam confirms. "I'm clumsy." It's an excuse that worked on his elementary school teachers and other concerned adults. 

Excuses generally work on those who want to hear them.

This time, it doesn't. 

"Kid, I'm going to be honest with you. This interview is only a formality. Harry over there was a former Auror, and he conducted the preliminary investigation at your house. He's found enough evidence to have your father indicted for child abuse," Auror Weasley says grimly.  


"No," Adam says weakly, "No, that's not-"

"Madam Pomphrey scanned you. Long-term malnutrition, more healed contusions than even a 'clumsy' child would have, and a punctured eardrum that Harry personally witnessed your father giving you."

That answers the question of how much Harry had heard that day. 

It's over. 

Adam inhales shakily. "Are you here to send me to the orphanage?"

"That's...a likely option," Auror Weasley confesses. " You don't have any relatives you can live with other than your parents, and returning to your parents isn't a possibility at this point."  


"But you have magic. Can't you just make my dad nicer? And my mum - she's never done anything to me," Adam pleads.

"Magic doesn't work that way, I'm sorry." He really does look sorry about this whole thing, not that it helps Adam. "And we're investigating your mother at the moment, so you can't stay with her. I can guess that you've probably heard some negative things about orphanages, but this is a magical orphanage."

Adam is so upset at this point that he says with uncharacteristic sharpness, "Putting the word 'magical' in front doesn't actually make everything better."

Harry takes this moment to interrupt. 

"Adam, I promise that it is better. Do you know why? Because I founded it after the war for children like you, magical ones, that need a place to stay when Hogwarts isn't in session. It's something that the Wizarding World has needed for a long time, something that I wish had been around earlier. I stay there myself during the summers and holidays with my godson Teddy - he's a year above you. The kids at Grimmauld Place are all great kids. I think you'd like staying there."

Adam picks at his pillow and says nothing.

"How about this? Come home with me for the rest of the summer. If you still don't want to stay by the end of the year, we'll figure something else out for you. Alright?"

It's not like he has much of a choice in the matter, so Adam nods.

He spends the rest of the visit chatting with Hermione while Auror Weasley and Harry confer quietly a few feet away. By the end of their animated discussion about wizards and the Internet, Adam is almost feeling better.

Almost. 

 


	3. A Place to Call Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The best part of Grimmauld Place is definitely the half-werewolf.

Teddy Lupin is twelve, half-werewolf, and a Metamorphmagus, which means he can shapeshift. Teddy is basically the coolest person to ever talk to Adam, though Blue is a close second. 

The other kids at the orphanage are nice too, but Teddy and Adam are almost the same age so they spend the most time together. That's another thing: Harry doesn't call the orphanage an orphanage, he just calls it Grimmauld Place.  

Grimmauld Place is neither grim nor old, though according to Harry it was in the past. During the house/mansion tour, Harry points out a wall where a screaming portrait used to hang. Because Portraits in the Wizarding World scream, apparently.

However, the Grimmauld Place that Harry introduces to Adam is huge, luxurious, and full of sounds of people. The matron of the house is a Teddy's grandmother Andromeda Tonks. She looks like the women in the Beautiful Home magazines and never raises her voice above a bell-like tenor. The house-elf Kreacher shoots Adam dirty looks, but he always subsides when Andromeda gives him a stern enough warning. Adam shares a room with two other kids, but the room is almost as big as his old trailer. It even has a chandelier - imagine that! In fact, e verything seems so elegant and expensive that Adam hesitates to touch the silverware at dinner. 

This is all to say that  Grimmauld Place fails to resemble the orphanages of his father's horror stories in the slightest, not to mention that Grimmauld Place has Teddy Lupin. 

Teddy, who nervously confesses that he is part-werewolf and laughs with relief when Adam's only reaction is to ask about the authenticity of Muggle folklore on lycanthropy.

Teddy, who can change his nose and height and shape but usually just settles for changing his hair between blue, light brown, and black, depending on his mood.

Teddy, who proclaims that Hufflepuff is the best House at Hogwarts but that he will still love Adam even if he isn't cool enough to get Sorted into the House of Badgers. 

Teddy, who upon hearing that Adam had already agreed to be best friends with Blue, says very reasonably, "Well, she can be your best girl friend. I can be your best boy friend." (After learning that tidbit, Harry laughs and laughs, but won't explain why.)

Long story short, Teddy is awesome.

When Adam isn't hanging out with Teddy, he exchanges letters with Blue. Harry spent more money on him in one trip to Diagon Alley than his parents spent in eleven years, so Adam is the proud owner of an owl and a year's worth of parchment paper and envelopes.

Through the letters, he learns that Blue lives in Hogsmeade year-round with her mother (mentions of a father are pointedly excluded, and Adam of all people knows better than to poke too deeply into people's family issues). Due to her inability to externalize magic, she won't be attending Hogwarts as a regular student this fall. Instead, Blue will assist with Divination classes and attend wandless classes such as Flying, Potions, Astronomy, and History of Magic.

"I won't be Sorted into a house, but I'll try to get into whatever classes you're in!" she offers. According to Blue, Teddy is sadly misinformed, and Ravenclaw is clearly the best House because all three of the Divination professors were Ravenclaws.

The repeated references to Hogwarts Houses does not escape Adam. From what he has gathered, a House determines one's Hogwarts experience. Adam is keen to make the right choice, so he asks Harry which House is the best.

"Gryffindor," Harry says automatically, before correcting himself with a diplomatic, "I mean, there is no best House. Each one has its merits."

In light of Adam's unimpressed expression, Harry amends, "I was in Gryffindor, so were Ron and Hermione. We had a good time, when Voldemort wasn't cocking things up for everybody. But Teddy loves Hufflepuff, and I've friends who swear by Ravenclaw too. So, there is no single 'best House.' They're all the best House."

"Even Slytherin?" Adam asks, since no one so far has presented the House of the Snakes as an option.

"Slytherin included," Harry answers, but not before Adam spots a brief look of discomfort flash across his face.

The matter of Houses requires further investigation, so Adam questions the rest of the household for a larger sample size. Four say Gryffindor, three vote for Hufflepuff, and three support Ravenclaw. Adam notes that respondents usually name whichever House they themselves are in as the best House. But on the topic of Slytherin, the students have this to say:

Neutrally: "Slytherin...I suppose there's nothing inherently wrong with cunning and ambition."

Worryingly: "Don't worry about being Sorted into Slytherin, Adam! You're a muggleborn; they don't usually take your sort. It's a self-preservation thing."

And: "All Slytherins aren't all bad. Just the majority. Not Mrs. Tonks though, she's one of the good ones."

The last response requires a follow-up, so he goes to Mrs. Tonks and subtly hints at the topic.

Mrs. Tonks gets a faraway look on her face when she answers. "I can't say I enjoyed my time in Slytherin, but things have changed. Looking back, I've met cowardly Gryffindors, courageous Slytherins, close-minded Ravenclaws, and lazy Hufflepuffs. The Sorting System is more of a suggestion than anything else. It doesn't determine one's fate."

So she says.

But Adam has already analyzed his results and come to his conclusion on the most favorable order of Houses. His top choice is Gryffindor, but he is uncertain if he's brave enough for them. Hufflepuff is next because it has Teddy. Plus, Adam doesn't consider himself particularly loyal but he's definitely hardworking. Ravenclaw would be all right too since Adam likes reading and riddles. He could spend more time with Blue since her mother is the Head of Ravenclaw.

The one House Adam is sure he doesn't want to get Sorted into is Slytherin. The Second Wizarding War eliminated some but not all blood purist sentiment. The current Slytherin is still about 90% pureblood. Adam is 100% Muggleborn.

He doesn't want Slytherin, and he's pretty sure Slytherin doesn't want him. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Casual foreshadowing that Adam is bi as hell.


	4. Hogwarts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam gets Sorted.

Adam joins Teddy and his second year friends in their compartment on the Hogwarts Express. He doesn't have much to contribute to the conversation, but he's satisfied just basking in the warm atmosphere and listening to their reenactments of funny summer stories. When the train pulls into Hogsmeade Station, Adam is feeling almost - dare he say it - relaxed.

Of course that's when Teddy snaps his fingers: "I forgot! First years go by boat, and second through seventh years go by carriage. Guess this is where split up, Adam. Be sure to make some new friends on the boat ride!"

"What?" Adam says, but Teddy and his group are already bounding off to their horseless carriages (how is that going to work, again?). By the time Adam manages to process the sudden betrayal enough to unroot himself and hurry to where the rest of the first years are, the boats are almost all full.

Luckily, Adam spots a boat with some empty spots. There are two occupants: a boy with curly hair and a sharp look in his eyes and a boy with teeth so straight and white he could be in a toothpaste commercial.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" he asks them.

The curly-haired one answers his question with another question. "What if we say no?"

Adam halts, one foot into the boat. "...are you?"

"Ronan, don't be cruel. Of course you can sit with us," says the boy with gleaming teeth. "My name is Richard Gansey III, but you can just call me Gansey."

Gansey the Third practically reeks of old money. What has he gotten himself into? Adam cautiously puts the other foot in the boat. When the mean one doesn't make any move to stop him, he sits. "Adam Parrish. Nice to meet you."

Upon being elbowed by Gansey, Curly grunts, "Ronan. Lynch."

"Parrish, Parrish..." Gansey ponders. "I can't say that I'm familiar with the name. Is your family an offshoot of one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight?"

"I'm Muggleborn, so probably not," Adam says flatly.

Gansey hastens to assure him, "Well, there's nothing wrong with being Muggleborn. Fascinating stuff that your people are doing with the, er, automatons and ekelecity these days."

"My 'people' call them robots and electricity," Adam corrects. The shine of Gansey's smile lowers several mega-watts as he wilts at the icy tone.

Ronan snorts. "Dick, you're really putting your foot in it right now."

"I swear I don't mean to offend you. I've just never met a Muggleborn before," Gansey apologizes with such earnestness that Adam softens in spite of himself.

"It's fine. Maybe don't phrase it as 'your people' next time," Adam advises. 

On that note, another boy - Asian by the looks of it - leaps into the boat. (Adam notes with some bitterness that Ronan doesn't give _him_ a hard time for it.) "Made it! Just in time."

The boy introduces himself as, "Henry Cheng, pleased to make your acquaintance. Korean on my mum's side and Chinese on my dad's, in case you were wondering."

Adam can't help but make a questioning sound at the seeming non sequitur.

Henry flashes his teeth, but there's nothing friendly about it. "People usually ask me 'where I'm really from,' so I thought I would get that out of the way upfront. I'm Korean and Chinese."

The explanation makes sense to him. "Adam Parrish. I'm...Anglo-Saxon, I think. There might be some French in there too."

Henry's smile turns a fraction more sincere.

"Cheng! One of the 88 houses, correct?" Gansey exclaims. He seems much more comfortable now that their new guest has revealed himself as a member of the same pureblood club.

"And you're Richard Gansey III. No need for an introduction there. Everyone's heard of you," Henry acknowledges before addressing Ronan, "You must be Ronan Lynch. I'm a huge fan of your father's work. I've actually brought one of his creations with me as a familiar."

Ronan grunts again, but Adam thinks it sounds distinctly more friendly than the grunt he received earlier.

Fantastic. Adam is the only Muggleborn in a boatful of purebloods dropping inside references he can't possibly hope to understand. Hopefully, this experience isn't representative of what seven years at Hogwarts are going to be like.

This is going to be a long boat ride.

 

 

Hogwarts is beautiful. Adam spends so long gaping at the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall that it takes him several moments to notice that the hall is filled with people.

Adam spots Headmistress McGonagall at the center of the head table; she looks even more dignified and intimidating than the first time he saw her, if that is even possible. He sees Hermione and Harry sitting side by side; Hermione smiles warmly at him, and Harry catches his eye in acknowledgement. Adam supposes he should be calling them Professor Granger and Professor Potter instead, now that they have a student-teacher relationship. He also glimpses a Professor who is the splitting image of a future Blue - Professor Sargent, no doubt.

After scanning the student tables, he notices Blue waving at him wildly from the Ravenclaw table. Next to her is a pretty older girl whom Adam presumes to be her cousin Orla. Meanwhile, Teddy is hopping up and down at the Hufflepuff table; he only subsides when his seatmates pull him back into his seat.

The Sorting begins, and Adam can't help but notice that new Slytherins receive considerably subdued applause compared to other first years, not including their fellow Slytherins who seem determined to clap loudly enough to make up for three Houses.

The first name Adam recognizes is Henry Cheng who goes off to Ravenclaw with an extravagant bow.

There is a lot of whispering when Gansey is going up, probably for the same reason that Henry had recognized Gansey so easily - not that Adam understands. The crowd responds to his Gryffindor Sorting with uproarious approval.

Ronan - Ronan is a surprise. Hufflepuff! It boggles his mind to think of scowling, curly-haired Ronan in the same House as Teddy and the other sweet, amiable Hufflepuffs.

Finally, Headmistress McGonagall calls out, "Parrish, Adam."

Adam perches on the stool as the Hat covers his eyes. It's mustier than he expected.

 _Hmm...Another tricky one,_ a croaky voice echoes in his head, _There's bravery, more than you yourself believe. And a work ethic for sure. You have intelligence to spare, but you prefer the fruits of knowledge over knowledge for its own sake. Aha! There's your core. I haven't such a strong thirst to prove yourself in a long time. And quite a cunning nature as well. It will be difficult, but if anyone can do this, you can. Mr. Parrish, I think that you had better be -_ "SLYTHERIN!"

Adam doesn't curse aloud, but it's a close call.

 


	5. First Day Jitters 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day of classes is never easy.

"I've always liked snakes, actually," Blue says. "They get a bad rap in the Euro-Christian tradition; it's quite unfair to the little legless fellows."

"Teddy looked really shocked yesterday," Adam replies glumly, poking at his eggs.

"Teddy will get over it," Blue says dismissively. "He's a Hufflepuff: once you've befriended one of them, you're friends for life. Unless you kill a man or something - and maybe even then too."

Unwilling to drop the point, Adam adds, "There's also Harry."

Blue finishes, "Who has gone on record saying that Severus Snape was the bravest man he ever knew. I doubt he'll mind very much. Now stop worrying, and do something productive. Like pass me another sausage."

A fellow down the table interrupts their conversation. "Are you even allowed to sit here?"

Blue points her butter knife at him in a distinctly threateningly manner. "I go where I want to go," she growls, staring him down until he averts his eyes.

Adam passes Blue her sausage.

"What class have you got first?" she asks between bites, as if she hasn't just intimidated his Housemate with cutlery. Blue doesn't usually chew with her mouth open: Adam can tell it's for the benefit of the snooty first year.

"History of Magic with the Gryffindors," he answers.

"Ugh, what a bore. And first thing in the morning too! I'm petitioning Maura to be released from Binn's class; you'd think for a ghost he'd be more interesting. No, I won't be going to History of Magic even for you, Adam. What's after?"

Adam checks his time table. "Charms with Hufflepuff. Lunch. Herbology with the Ravenclaws. Defence Against the Dark Arts with Hufflepuff again. And...that's it."

"Can't do Charms or DADA, which is a shame. I wanted to the excuse to beat up, ahem, duel certain idiots here with Professor Potter's blessing. Never mind, I like Professor Longbottom, and you won't be doing wandwork until the third week in his class. I'll see you in Herbology then," Blue decides, matter-of-fact as always about her inability to attend certain classes.

Unless "certain idiots" bother her about it, in which case she just gets explosive. Blue refuses to be ashamed of her wandlessness anymore than she is ashamed of her patchwork tights, and Adam likes her for it all the more.

As it turns out, Blue is correct about Teddy. Adam suspects that she is correct more often than not about most things. The Hufflepuff approaches their table with a sheepish smile after breakfast.

"I was pretty surprised about it," Teddy admits. "Didn't really peg you as a Slytherin. Ravenclaw, maybe."

"You weren't the only one," Adam says.

"Still think you would have made a great badger, but you do look good in green," Teddy jokes. He peeks at Adam's schedule. "You've got History of Magic first thing in the morning? Bad luck, that. If you start nodding off, try lightly stabbing yourself in the hand with the quill - always works for me."

They bid goodbye, Teddy heading off to the Astronomy tower, Blue to help with the second year Divination class, and Adam to the History of Magic classroom. When his friends have rounded the corner, Adam lets out a sigh of relief that he hadn't wanted to admit he was holding. He's glad that Teddy isn't upset about the Sorting. As he predicted even before arriving at Hogwarts, Adam can already tell Slytherin isn't exactly the favored House.

Adam carries his relieved cheer all the way to the classroom. Having been warned by both Blue and Teddy about the class, Adam thinks he will need every bit of positive emotion he can get.

Gansey is there already, surrounded by a circle of adoring Gryffindors. Adam tries to subtly slide past the clump of people in the hallway but is spotted before he can.

"Adam! Adam Parrish!" Gansey calls.

Adam arranges his face in a suitably polite but neutral expression before turning around. "Gansey. Good morning."

"Would you like to sit together?" Gansey inquires.

Adam pointedly moves his eyes to the small entourage behind Gansey. Gansey doesn't seem to get the message.

"I'll be sitting in the first row, and unfortunately, I don't think there's enough room for you and all of your..." There is a pause during which Adam briefly considers and rejects less flattering terms such as "lackeys" and "followers." He settles on, "...friends."

Having said his piece, Adam walks into the classroom. Gansey ends up choosing a seat right behind him. His crowd of admirers fills up the entire second row, to Adam's great annoyance. One of them snores particularly loudly.

Adam glances backwards just once during the class. Gansey, another Slytherin girl, and Adam are the only students still awake, and only Gansey actually has a look of genuine interest on his face while Professor Binns drones on about the Goblin Wars of 1366. He's different than what Adam expected from the Gryffindor Golden Boy.

Just then, Gansey catches his eye and smiles a little crookedly.

Blushing, Adam jerks his eyes back to the board.

 


	6. First Day Jitters 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 9 out of 10 Hogwarts students agree that Professor Longbottom is well fit.

Adam sits in the front row again in the next class. History of Magic was because he predicted that sitting so close to Professor Binns would keep him paying attention, but Charms seems like it will be more interesting. Blue had nothing but praises for the Head of Ravenclaw, and it strikes him as one of the more practical subjects at Hogwarts. Still, there's also the added bonus that he is far away from Ronan Lynch, who is sitting in the back of the classroom with Joseph Kavinsky.

Adam doesn't exactly dislike Ronan, but he finds him difficult to deal with. And if Ronan has a look of intensity in his eyes, Kavinsky has the same gaze but with added cruelty. He reminds Adam of a girl back home who used to poke at stray cats with sharpened twigs. Folks whispered about her in low tones the same way they had whispered about the Parrish family, until she was sent away one day. Same as he did with the girl back home, Adam thinks it best to stay far, far away from both Ronan and Kavinsky.

Professor Flitwick is several times more engaging than Professor Binns, but Adam is disappointed to discover that they won't be learning spells until Halloween. On their way out, Ronan and Kavinsky pass by his desk. To Adam's relief, Kavinsky's eyes flit right over him in disinterest. Ronan, however, pauses almost imperceptibly in front of Adam.

 _Go away,_ Adam thinks very hard at him. He read that magic is all about intent, so hopefully Ronan realizes that Adam wants as little to do with him as possible. Ronan must see something in his face because he snorts and walks away. Good. 

At lunch, he asks Blue about Ronan. The other first years leave a conspicuous gap between them, presumably having learned from this morning's butter knife incident.

She taps her chin in contemplation. "I know his brother Declan is a prefect. Kind of stuck up, from what I hear. Better than Ronan though. He's already terrorized two Hufflepuffs today. I think his family is well-known for something else too..."

"The Lynches are one of the most prominent Irish lines," a high voice chimes in. "One of the few families balanced between Light and Dark. Greywarens, they call them."

They turn in their seats to see the source of the interruption.

Adam resists the urge to groan. It's Tad Carruthers. Technically, Carruthers hasn't committed any wrongs against him, besides going on about his fantastic life last night when Adam was trying to sleep. Nevertheless, he's still really annoying.

Taking their silence as approval, Carruthers continues, "Niall Lynch - that's Ronan's dad - trades rare magical objects; he's got clients all over the world. Declan's on the straight-track to the Ministry. The youngest Lynch, Matthew, won't be coming to Hogwarts for another three years. And Ronan is childhood friends with Gansey, though Merlin knows how that happened."

Blue looks like she's about to say something scathing about butting in on private conversations, but Adam wants to know more so he quickly asks for clarification about Gansey.

"Gansey?" Carruthers says with surprise, "Why, everyone knows about the Gansey family!"

Adam says patiently, "Obviously not 'everyone,' since I am asking you right now about him."

Adam can practically see the lightbulb flash over Carruthers' head when he remembers that Adam is a muggleborn. "Right, right. Goodness, I've never actually had to explain this to someone before. Well, the Ganseys are distantly related to King Arthur. They've been in leadership positions since before the establishment of the Wizards' Council. The last few decades, they've been hanging more in the shadows, but Richard Gansey II - that's Gansey's father - took over as Chief Warlock of Wizengamot after Dumbledore died, and Mrs. Gansey is on the Hogwarts Board of Governors." Carruthers can't resist adding, "My uncle is the chair of the board, you know."

"Fascinating," Blue drawls.

Carruthers flushes. "You're Professor Sargent's daughter, aren't you? Your family has been churning out Seers for decades." Left unsaid but implied is the fact that Blue is definitely not a Seer, or even a normal witch.

Blue says it for him with narrowed eyes. "Until me. Is that what you wanted to say?"

He backtracks quickly. "Er, no, I mean, it must be so difficult being a Squib when your mother is -"

"I despise that term," she says pleasantly. Somehow, it is ten times scarier than when she is glaring.

Carruthers shows that he is not entirely lacking in self-preservation instinct because he rushes out, "NicetalkingtoyouAdamIhavetogonow," before leaping out of his seat and running out of the Great Hall.

Blue stabs her pie with perhaps more force than is warranted when Carruthers has gone.

Silently, Adam passes her a biscuit.

 

 

Blue is recovered enough by Herbology to be one of the few girls not conspicuously blushing over Professor Longbottom.

She rolls her eyes. "I grew up near Hogwarts, remember? I've seen Professor Longbottom covered in plant sap way too many times for the mystique of "Viper Slayer" to last. And he's got a fiance, not that it stops the sixth and seventh years from throwing themselves at him. They think he's well fit."

Adam bites his lip. God knows what his father would say about "those sorts" if he heard what Adam is about to say. But then again, his father isn't an issue anymore. Plus, one of Teddy's friends casually mentioned vacationing with her girlfriend on the train, and no one in the compartment had even blinked an eye. So Adam admits, "He _is_ well-fit."

Henry leans over from across the aisle. Adam tenses, but all the Ravenclaw adds is a saucy, "I concur."

"Not you too," Blue says exasperatedly. 

However, the reaction to Professor Longbottom in Herbology pales in comparison to the reaction to the teacher in his next class.

Adam has heard scattered bits about the Second Wizarding War and the pivotal role that Harry Potter played in it. At first, he was shocked and uncomfortable to learn he was living with the Savior of the Wizarding World, but Harry acted so normally with Teddy and the other kids that he eventually stopped feeling intimidated. Much of the Boy Who Lived mystique wears off by dint of exposure: it's hard to put Harry on a pedestal after one has seen him stuff two treacle tarts in his mouth on a dare from Ron Weasley. The "Boy Who Lived" title is nonsense, anyway. You would think the press could come up with a new name for a grown man pushing thirty.

The Defense Against Dark Arts class reminds Adam that Harry Potter is still a really huge deal to the general populace. Both the Slytherins and the Gryffindors are enraptured when Harry starts speaking. The Gryffindors are more obvious about their hero worship, but even the Slytherins - notorious for grumbling about the favored Gryffindor House - are reluctantly starstruck. 

Harry concludes his class with a solemn, "I hope you won't need to use these lessons, but I can't guarantee that the world outside of these castle walls is entirely safe. My job is to make sure you're prepared for whatever happens." When the class continues to stare at him in wordless awe as they have for the entire period, he sighs. "Dismissed."

Adam lingers behind as the rest of the class slowly files out of the room. The students cast longing looks back at Harry as they leave, but his aura of celebrity is strong enough that no one is willing to actually speak to him.

Harry is shuffling the papers on his desk. "Good to see you, Adam."

"Professor Potter," he returns.

"We're alone now; you can call me Harry. I could use the reminder that I'm not, in fact, a living myth as your fellow schoolmates seem to believe."

"How many Harrys did you count during roll call?" Adam says slyly. "Four?"

"Five. I swear, there's more every year," Harry corrects, pulling a face. "Anyway, enough about me. How was your first day?"

"It was alright," Adam responds. He fidgets with the hem of his shirt. "So...I got Sorted into Slytherin."

"I noticed," Harry says dryly. 

Adam peers up at him through his eyelashes. "What do you think? Be honest."

"I meant what I said about no Hogwarts House being superior. And I don't agree with the nonsense that all Slytherins are destined to be Dark. It's just that you're the first Muggleborn that's been Sorted into Slytherin for a while. There are a few halfbloods scattered throughout the years, but the majority of the House is pureblood. I was worried that you would have trouble fitting in."

"So you don't think I'm going to become a supervillain," Adam concludes with relief.

"What? No!" Harry lets out a surprised huff. "If you do become the next Dark Lord, it won't be because a Hat told you so."

"I'll let you know beforehand if I do," he promises solemnly.

Harry chuckles. "You're a good kid, Adam. Off to dinner with you."


	7. Friendship is Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam is killing it at magic. And friendship, sort of.

The first time Adam casts a spell, something shifts and settles inside him.

Professor Flitwick has finally deemed their class ready to learn the Levitation Charm and demonstrates it in front of them by floating a feather around the classroom. Adam watches his wand movements as if he can burn the image into his mind.

Closing his eyes, he replays the precise order of movements, the way Professor Flitwick's lips shaped the words, the smell in the air when the spell took hold. Around him, he can vaguely hear the sounds of the class unsuccessfully attempting the charm. 

A voice breaks through his concentration. "Typical Muggleborn," Kavinsky spits, tone making it evident that he would be using a very different term had they not been in a classroom, "doesn't even realize that he's supposed to be using his wand."

Propenko and Kavinsky's other friends laugh uproariously. Adam would note that Ronan is silent - if he cared about Ronan's opinion, which he definitely doesn't.

"Mr. Kavinsky-!" Professor Flitwick begins to scold. 

Adam can see it, everything he is supposed to do. And then he does it as easily as breathing: " _Wingardium Leviosa!_ "

Adam opens his eyes to see his feather hovering at eye-level.

Professor Flitwick nearly destabilizes the book stack he is standing on in excitement. "Fantastic. Mr. Parrish has done it, and on the first try too! Ten points to Slytherin."

"A fluke," Kavinsky mutters, but he's wrong. 

Adam is good at this. He gets another ten points in Transfiguration for successfully turning a match into a needle. His boil cure is the exact shade of aquamarine in the textbook, earning him a speculative, "A worthy Slug Club candidate," from Professor Slughorn. Because Blue doesn't belong to a House, he ends up getting twice the points for Slytherin for their shared work.

In Defense Against the Dark Arts, the first spell they learn is the Disarming Charm. "An unusual choice," Harry allows, "but it was the spell that saved me countless times during the war. Very useful in battle situations. You don't mind, do you?" Vigorous head shakes. "Good. Then I'll need a volunteer for my demonstration. Mr. Parrish, how about you?"

Adam means to hold still during the demonstration, he really does. But as soon as he sees the red beam heading towards him, he ducks to the side and the spell bounces harmlessly off the wall behind him.

Straightening up from his crouch, Adam flushes an ugly red at the Kavinsky gang's mocking jeers. His ingrained reflexes wouldn't let him forget years of dodging flying beer bottles so easily.

"Why are you all laughing?" Harry says sharply. "That was an excellent display. Mr. Parrish has just shown us that he understands an integral part of Defense. Sometimes the best defense for a spell is not being there for it to hit you in the first place."

The laughter subsides into chastened silence.

"One adjustment that I would make is correcting your landing. You should place your foot behind you, so that you can smoothly transition from one stance to another. Let's try it one more time. Keep it up, Mr. Parrish, and you'll make a fine duelist one day."

Adam can't help but hide a pleased flush behind his freckled wrist. It isn't a fluke. Adam belongs here at Hogwarts, and he'll prove it every day if he has to. 

 

 

Against his better judgment, Adam allows Gansey to befriend him. And that really is the right way to phrase it - "allow." He's read tales of romance with more subtle courting than Gansey's dogged persistence in befriending him.

It baffles the hell out of Gansey's admirers. What could Richard Gansey III (Gryffindor Golden Boy! King Arthur's descendant! Heir to a Sacred Twenty-Eight family!) possibly see in little old Adam Parrish? They eventually conclude that Gansey must be taking advantage of Adam's scholastic ability. After all, Gansey and Adam are two of the only students who can stay conscious for an entire Binns lecture.

What Gansey's admirers fail to realize is that History of Magic is one of the few classes in which Adam is not in fact the top student. Gansey doesn't need any help in History of Magic - he once corrected Binns on the date of the 73rd Skirmish of the 34th Goblin War. Plus, he is already doing independent research on Cadwaladr, Glendower, and of course, the Once and Future King. All that Gansey requires from Adam is that he be a willing ear and an intelligent sounding board.

Adam finds himself sincerely enjoying Gansey's presence. He still gets jealous sometimes when it feels like the world has been handed to Gansey on the silver platter. But then Gansey will listen to Adam with parted lips as he explains about atoms and airplanes and the Internet, and then Adam will remember that he likes Gansey because he is a genuinely good person.

Perhaps the most annoying thing about Gansey is his transparent attempts to make Ronan and Adam friends. Gansey was brought up in polite society, so he doesn't do anything as gauche as inviting Ronan along on their study sessions. Instead, Gansey casually mentions Ronan in his stories, about how he's really not a bad chap and first impressions are misleading, wouldn't you say, and so on.

Eventually, Adam gets fed up. Interrupting an anecdote about Ronan's caring nature towards his younger brother, Adam says simply, "He hangs out with Kavinsky a lot."

He does not say, _Kavinsky is a pureblood supremacist and have you heard of this saying called "Birds of a feather flock together"? Because I'm not masochistic enough to willingly spend time with someone who despises my existence. I've had enough of that already._

There are three types of Slytherins, those who are neutral towards Muggles, those who look down upon Muggles but don't show it for political correctness, and those who casually throw around "Mudblood" in conversation.

The older students tend to be of the first stock: they were born closer to the end of the war, when it became social suicide to espouse the values of the just-defeated Dark Lord. They're not exactly ready to hold hands and sing kumbaya with Muggleborns like Adam, but they won't be bothering him about his heritage anytime soon.

The majority of Slytherin is in the second group, Adam can tell by the indignant and disbelieving faces whenever he trounces them in class despite his "disadvantage." He's not a huge fan of them either.

Lastly, there are a few students bold enough to display their prejudice outright. It's just Adam's luck that the Kavinsky and his gang of terrors belong firmly in that last group.

Gansey frowns. "I never liked Kavinsky very much. I've told Ronan again and again that he's a bad influence."

"I've found that telling Ronan to do something is the best way to ensure it doesn't get done," Adam says dryly.

"You've only known him for a few months, and you've already grasped his character," Gansey jokes. When Adam doesn't laugh, he says more seriously, "I promise you that Ronan doesn't care about blood purity. He really doesn't."

Ronan may not fling around slurs the way his companion does, but he condones Kavinsky's behavior through his contemptuous indifference.

"End the sentence earlier: Ronan doesn't care," Adam corrects, "Period."

And that's as far as he is willing to be pushed on the Ronan issue.

 


	8. A Family Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is family? What is love? Questions that Adam doesn't know the answer to.

A few weeks before the winter holidays, Harry pulls Adam aside to tell him about his family.

"Your father has been sentenced to five years in prison. We had to Obliviate him. He thinks that you've been permanently taken away by Child Protective Services." A pause. "He can't hurt you ever again."

Adam waits because he knows there is more.

"We discovered that your mother was a muggleborn witch. She escaped to the Muggle world after Voldemort's return to escape persecution and just never came back. She hasn't used magic since, and that does things to a witch or wizard. She's in a rehabilitation facility now. Your mother won't be prosecuted for abuse, but because she knew about the abuse and didn't prevent it, she's lost custody over you. Do you know what that means?"

It means that Adam has lost both of his parents. It means that he's an orphan.

"You won't be going back to either of them again. We can arrange visits to your mother when she's better, if you like, but that isn't going to be happening for a while."

"Okay," he says numbly.

"When you were here over the summer, I told you that you had options. Staying at Grimmauld is one of them. We can also look for magical fostering or adoption possibilities, but that's more difficult without genealogical ties. I hope you do stay with me and Teddy, but it's your choice."

"Can I-" his voice breaks, "can I have some time to think about it?"

"Of course," Harry says in the same gentle voice he has been using the entire time. "Are you all right?"

Adam finds his voice and his honesty. "Not really," he says, "but I will be. I'm...going to go now."

Harry nods slowly and allows him to leave the office.

Adam is skipping stones across the Great Lake when he feels a warm presence settle against his side.  He doesn't look up or acknowledge the presence for a few minutes, but eventually he says, "Teddy."

"Hi Adam," Teddy says softly.

"Harry told you?"

"Not much. I knew that your parents were still alive, but you couldn't stay with them this summer. And I know that now it's permanent."

"About sums it up."

"Are you sad?" Teddy asks, and it's such a strange question that Adam doesn't know how to respond.

Teddy answers it himself. "I was sad when Andromeda told me about Remus and Tonks. I was angry too, that they died in the war and left me alone. Sometimes I think I would give anything to have them here with me again. But then I remember that I have Harry, Andromeda, and you, and I think that things aren't too bad after all. Everyone tells me that my parents were good people. I'm guessing things aren't so clear-cut for you."

"I feel relieved," Adam confesses. "We were never a family. Or, maybe the first few years before my dad started drinking we were, but I can hardly remember when things were good. My mom checked out of reality when he started hitting me. There isn't enough life in her to save herself, let alone someone else. They weren't the best parents, but they're all I ever had. I've always felt that I was on my own, but now it's really true."

"They _were_ all you had," Teddy corrects. "Now you have me and Harry, if you want us. And that's not dependent on you staying at Grimmauld. I really want you to, but you'll still have us if you go somewhere else." He smirks. "You've befriended a Hufflepuff, so you're never getting rid of me now."

Adam hands Teddy a particularly smooth rock.

Teddy takes it and skips it so far into the Great Lake that a lone tentacle breaks the surface of the water and curves questioningly at the intrusion.

"Thanks Teddy."

 

Harry gives him the option of choosing where to spend his Christmas. The kids at Grimmauld Place do all sorts of things over the holidays: some stay at Hogwarts, some visit the homes of friends, some return to Grimmauld Place, and some go with Harry and Teddy to celebrate with the Weasleys.

Adam has already made his decision, and he doesn't look back. He goes to the Burrow with Harry and Teddy on Christmas Eve.

Adam enters a home that is probably the picture in the dictionary underneath the word "cozy" and is barraged with more red hair in one place than he's seen in his entire life. Teddy grabs Adam by the hand and begins introducing him to every Weasley there.

Molly Weasley is the matriarch of the family. She immediately shoves food at Adam, clucking at how skinny he is. She's warm and kind and smells of freshly kneaded dough. Her husband Arthur Weasley is fascinated by Muggle technology and would have happily grilled Adam about smartphones ("are they really that intelligent?") for the rest of the night if she hadn't pulled him away.

Hermione and Ron have brought the elusive Rose Weasley. They've talked about their daughter before but never brought her to Grimmauld Place - they usually leave her with Arthur and Molly when they go out. Rose is a precocious toddler; her favorite word is "why," and Teddy and Adam spend a good ten minutes trying to answer a chain of questions until she finally stumps them.

Bill and Fleur are an unlikely but lovely couple. Bill is heavily scarred from a werewolf attack whereas Fleur is the prettiest woman Adam has ever met. Their daughter Victoire is attending Hogwarts next year and suitably jealous of Adam and Teddy. She is also attractive enough that Adam stutters for a good ten minutes. Teddy is more immune, and the two carry the conversation until Adam gets used to it.

Charlie comes alone to the party. He has shiny burn scars wrapping up his arms, and he regales them with tales about the dragon that Harry, Hermione, and Ron freed from Gringotts. Molly interrupts them to nag Charlie about not bringing a date, and he rolls his eyes a little after she's gone, muttering that she's fine with Percy and Ollie but somehow still doesn't understand aromanticism. Adam makes a mental note to research that term later.  Unfortunately, Charlie is on call and has to return to Romania shortly after for a dragon emergency.

Ginny is also on her own. Apparently, her latest boyfriend is being a tit, and she refuses to subject her family to him. She and Harry used to date, but there's no awkwardness in the way they interact. She promises to give them flying tips from her experience as a Chaser on the Holyhead Harpies.

Adam blinks a little when he meets Percy and "Ollie." Ollie is short for Oliver, and Oliver is very much male. Adam doesn't care too much for Quidditch but even he recognizes Oliver Wood as the star Keeper for Puddlemere United. Percy is the Head of the Department of Transportation at the Ministry of Magic. In contrast to his husband's Quidditch fanaticism, he is immensely practical and organized and advises Adam about how to attain an internship at the Ministry when he's older. At first glance, Oliver and Percy seem like they wouldn't work well together. But then Percy's severe expression will smooth away when he looks at Oliver or Oliver will lose the plot mid-Quidditch rant and just stare at Percy, and Adam knows that they are just as well-matched as Molly and Arthur.

George is the owner of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, a Hogsmeade shop that Adam has heard the upperclassmen talk about at length. His wife Angelina is away caring for her father. Adam is careful not to stare too long at his missing ear, which has been replaced with a gaudy gramophone horn. His son Fred Weasley II takes after him; he tricks Adam and Teddy into eating a prototype product that gives people bunny ears, but Adam is pretty sure that he is laughing with them instead of at them.

In the center is Harry. Adam hasn't gone out of his way to research the Second Wizarding War. Only a decade has gone by since it ended, and people still reference it all the time. He knows that Harry's parents were killed when he was a baby and that he was sent away to live with Muggle relatives. He knows that speculation believes those Muggle relatives to not have been the best people, considering how tight-lipped Harry is about them. He knows that Harry doesn't have a biological family to call his own. But he does have a family.

Observing the warmth and light that seeps from every corner of the Burrow, Adam finally manages to put a name to it: love. It's something that he's never had and never understood. He feels...something when he is with Blue, Teddy, and Harry. An ache in his sternum area. Is that love?

Adam isn't sure. But he thinks he wants the chance to find out.

 

 


	9. The Forbidden Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And that's how Adam ends up gardening in the Forbidden Forest at midnight to defend his honor.

One might think that the Yuletide cheer would put even jerks like Kavinsky in a better mood.

One would be mistaken.

Adam returns to Hogwarts after winter break to find Kavinsky more of a jerk than ever. His Housemate has escalated from making snide comments to harassing Adam outright. Not for the first time, Adam wishes that he hadn't been sorted into Slytherin. At least Kavinsky wouldn't have had access to him in the dorms.

Hermione's gift of _1_ _77_ _Essential Spells_ immediately proves its value. After the second time Adam finds his belongings covered in dirt, he makes good use of the chapter on locking charms and protection spells. He also bookmarks the chapter on jinxes and countercurses.

Unlike the book, his fellow Housemates prove absolutely useless. The Slytherin policy is to let intra-House conflicts resolve themselves. Inter-House conflicts are different; Slytherins are supposed to present a united front against outsiders - a rule which Kavinsky is most certainly not abiding by - but Adam is enough of an outsider that most members of his House just look the other way. Carruthers occasionally appears to want to say something. However, as soon as he catches the dangerous gleam in Kavinsky's eyes, he lets out an "eep!" and pretends to be doing something else. Along the same lines, the older students shake their heads in disapproval at Kavinsky's antics but consider themselves above intervening.

Adam doesn't actually expect anybody to save him. He's used to handling things on his own. It's just that the profound hypocrisy of his Housemates is annoying. Also, he doesn't like being put in a situation where he can't relax in his own living space; he's had enough of that for a lifetime. 

They go on like that for a week or two, Kavinsky trying to sabotage and degrade Adam at each turn and Adam constantly learning new spells to fend him off. It's like taking an extra core class that deals solely with practical applications. He's almost getting used to this new daily pace when Blue finally finds out.

She storms up to Kavinsky in the Slytherin common room, ignoring Adam's attempts to quell her anger, and snarls, " _You!_ "

"Me," Kavinsky agrees mockingly.

"You're the one that's been bothering Adam lately. You need to stop," she orders.

Kavinsky snorts. "Or what? He's going to set his pet Squib on me? You're not much of a deterrent."

Blue looks like she's about to haul back and punch Kavinsky in the face. While that would be a thing of glory to see, there are too many potential witnesses in the common room for Adam to allow it. So Adam places a hand on her shoulder to restrain her and steps forward.

"Kavinsky."

"Mudblood," Kavinsky greets in turn.

Adam's polite smile doesn't budge. "I'd appreciate it if you could stop vandalizing my property. I know you think covering my trunk with mud is the height of wit, but quite frankly it's getting repetitive. Also, I'm reasonably certain that you've been getting your dirt from the greenhouses, and Professor Longbottom is going to need that fertilizer for our next class."

Kavinsky stops smirking. "Perfect Parrish. Walking around Hogwarts like nothing ever touches you when really you're nothing but a filthy little Mud-"

"Yes, yes, 'Mudblood,' we've established that already. Don't you have any original material?"

Someone in the common room sniggers and then tries to turn it into a cough. Kavinsky turns Gryffindor-red with rage.

Blue slams her hands on the table. "Look - what is it going to take for you to leave Adam alone?"

Kavinsky recovers quickly. "How about a bet? I'll leave you two alone if you can prove yourselves."

"What kind of bet?" Blue asks.

Adam has a bad feeling about this.

"We're studying blood roses in the next unit. They grow in places where blood and dark magic has been spilled, and lucky for you, the Forbidden Forest is just next door. Bring a blood rose to me, and I'll admit defeat."

"We don't have to prove anything to you," Adam starts to say.

"Deal," Blue says fiercely.

"Blue..."

She says lowly, "Look, I know that you think you can handle this, but I'm not going to let these assholes treat us like we're inferior. This is actually the best outcome we could have hoped for. We do this once, and they leave us alone forever. Trust me, Adam." 

Adam still thinks it's a stupid idea, but... "Kavinsky, I'm holding you to your promise. We get you your blood rose, and you never bother me or my friends again. You call us by our last names, you don't cast any spells near our direction, you quit the snide asides, and you tell your lackeys to do the same. You treat us like members of this House. Agreed?"

The other occupants of the common room are studiously ignoring the conversation in a way that means they are actually paying the utmost attention to it.

Adam sees the look on Kavinsky's face when he realizes that he can't back down from the challenge without losing face. Kavinsky being Kavinsky covers it up with a sneer. He promises, "May Salazar himself strike me down if I break my word."

And that's how Adam ends up gardening in the Forbidden Forest with Blue at midnight to defend their honor.

 

 

Lifting a lantern up to the black hole of inky darkness that is the Forbidden Forest, Adam upgrades his initial assessment of "this excursion is a stupid idea" to "this excursion may or may not get us killed before I've even finished one year at Hogwarts."

"I'll hold the lantern. You use Lumos," Blue suggests helpfully.

He passes her the lantern and casts Lumos. Great. Now they have two pinpricks of light to illuminate a forest of darkness and danger.

"I guess we just wander until we find the blood roses?"

Adam is beginning to realize that most wizards and witches have no survival instincts whatsoever. "We'll definitely have to go in pretty deep, but we need to leave a trail so that we can find our way back."

Blue pulls out a small dagger - is that a glittery pink handle? - and marks the nearest tree. At his surprised glance, she says, "What? You think I came unprepared?"

And so into the forest they go. And go. And go.

Blue shivers. "Is it just me, or is it getting colder? Do you feel that?"

It's definitely cold outside since it's still January, but they're both wearing heated cloaks. "What do you feel?"

She has an odd look on her face. "I think...we should go that way."

Blue's instincts are usually spot-on, but Adam is hesitant to test them right this moment. However, he doesn't get a choice because Blue starts moving forward as if in a trance.

After a few moments, they enter a small clearing, peculiarly devoid of trees.

"It smells like death," Blue observes dreamily, which isn't an alarming thing to say at all.

Out of the corner of his eye, Adam spots a flash of red - the blood roses.

"I'm going to pick a few, and then we can head back."

He may not be as sensitive as Blue, but something about this clearing feels downright eerie. Adam doesn't want to stay here any longer than they have to.

Adam tries pulling a rose out of the bush but has to stop when he can feel the thorns pricking through his gloves.

"Blue, can I borrow your dagger?" he calls.

"Why don't you try a Severing Charm instead?"

"We aren't supposed to learn that until second year," Adam replies absently before realizing that the person who answered was distinctly male. He jerks his head up, and a pale fair-haired teen stares steadily back at him.

His scream sends Blue running towards them. "Adam, what's happened? Hold on, who are you?"

"Noah," says the teen who almost gave Adam a heart attack. Upon closer examination, Noah is wearing the Hogwarts uniform. He's older than them, maybe a Seventh Year, and he has so little presence that he's almost invisible. It feels like he would fade away if Adam stopped looking at him directly.

"What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?" Blue interrogates.

"Shouldn't I be asking you two that? Aren't you first years?" Noah points out.

Blue scowls. "I asked you first!"

"I-" Noah pauses, brow furrowing. "I...what _am_ I doing out here? It's nighttime? I could have sworn it was just around sunset when we came to the forest."

"We?" Blue prompts.

"There was someone else here. I...I can't remember. Why can't I remember?" Noah rubs his forehead.

Something is very wrong here.

Blue places a gloved hand on Noah's arm to comfort him, and the outline of his body seems to glow for a minute before becoming more sharply defined. She yanks her hand back as if jolted, and he goes smudgy again.

"No, no, do that again for a second?" Noah requests.

Blue slowly puts her hand back. Adam can make out a dark smudge on Noah's cheekbone now.

Noah says slowly, "I think I'm dead. I think...somebody killed me." 


	10. Noah

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noah is one of a kind. It might be easier on Blue and Adam if he weren't so unique.

Obviously, they don't believe Noah when he says that he is dead.

"I'm touching you right now," Blue points out. "I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to touch you if you were dead."

"Take off your glove," Noah says. She narrows her eyes suspiciously but does so. He grabs her hand and places it on the side of his neck.

The blood drains from Blue's face. "You - you don't have a pulse."

Adam removes his glove as well and puts his palm against Noah's heart. There's no reassuring _ba-dump ba-dump_ to be found. The part of his mind that never stops whirring points out that unlike Adam and Blue, Noah doesn't emit a cloud of white from his mouth when he speaks. Adam puts his finger in front of Noah's nose and realizes that Noah isn't breathing at all. 

"You're not an Inferi. But ghosts aren't corporeal; the living pass right through the dead," Blue says bemusedly. 

"I remember being hit." Noah lightly touches the bruise on his cheekbone. "Again and again. And then darkness. Light. Darkness."

"Do you remember who or what hit you?" The last time students died in swathes was the Second Wizarding War. "Was it a Death Eater?"

Noah looks confused. "A Death Eater? The Ministry rounded up all the Death Eaters after You Know Who was defeated."

Adam wonders if that means Noah was killed soon after the war.

But Blue has something else in mind. "What year is it?" she asks Noah.

"Blue?" Adam says, but she ignores him.

"What year is it?" Blue repeats.

"It's 1985," Noah answers.

1985 would have been five years after the end of..."The First Wizarding War," Adam says in realization. Adam was correct with his theory about the Wizarding War but wrong about which one it was. 

Noah picks up on the cue pretty quickly. "First?"

Blue says, "Noah...the year is 2010."

"I-" Noah's body starts flickering in and out.

"Noah?"

"I-" Static.

"Noah!"

He's disappeared, leaving the two of them alone in the clearing once more.

They wait there for another hour, but Noah doesn't return.

On their trek back to the castle, Blue says suddenly, "We're going back. We're not leaving him there."

Adam adjusts the sack of blood roses on his back before answering. "We should do some research first. Search through old yearbooks. We don't have a last name, but we've got a few potential years."

"If it wasn't the Death Eaters..." Blue trails off.

"Yeah," Adam says grimly, "it might have been a teacher or a fellow student."

"It would have been big news if a student was found dead at Hogwarts," Blue says. "I definitely would have heard about it."

"The fact that you didn't tells me that his death was never reported." Somewhere in the Wizarding World is a murderer who got away with their crime.

Blue doesn't disagree. Instead, she changes the subject. "I've never met a ghost like Noah before. Ghosts aren't supposed to be tangible."

"He got more tangible when you touched him," Adam remarks.

"I told you about the magnifier thing, remember? Noah must be drawing on some source of power in order to manifest. I can't give people magic; I just boost what they already have." 

"Research," Adam decides, "lots and lots of research."

It's a testament to how shaken Blue is that she doesn't make a fuss at the idea of more homework. After a while, she says, "Well, at least Kavinsky won't be an issue anymore."

Silver linings.

 

The next day, Adam drops the blood roses into Kavinsky's lap with a thump. The flowers are astonishingly beautiful in the daylight; he almost wants to keep them instead of wasting them on Kavinsky. He takes some comfort in the possibility that Kavinsky will accidentally stab himself on the blood rose thorns.

Adam addresses the curious onlookers, "You remember the promise. Now you see our side fulfilled."

"You-!" Kavinsky sputters.

Adam is so glad he stopped Blue from punching Kavinsky because the astonished fury on his face at being thwarted is _glorious_.

Kavinsky might be a snake, but even snakes have to keep their promises when they've bet and lost in front of this many people.

Adam says, "You're a man of your word. I'll be expecting a change in behavior starting now."

Never one to miss out an opportunity to school a fellow classmate, Blue chimes in, "For your information, my name is Blue Sargent, not 'squib.' That'll be Sargent to you, because I don't like you."

Adam adds on, "Parrish will do for me."

Kavinsky acknowledges them through gritted teeth. "Parrish. Sargent. I'm impressed. You didn't get caught. Or die."

"Is this the part where we're supposed to swoon?" Blue asks Adam. 

But Adam spots a glimmer of genuine respect in those words. Oh, Kavinsky still hates them, and he's as much of a pureblood supremacist as he ever was. However, by virtue of their continued survival against the odds, Adam and Blue have managed to shake Kavinsky's certainty in the world order, just a little.

Kavinsky isn't looking at Adam like he's a particularly sticky piece of gum on the bottom of his shoe anymore. He looks at Adam like he's a worthy opponent. Adam shouldn't care whether Kavinsky is impressed with him, but it's a little gratifying.

"You keep to your own, and I'll keep to mine," Kavinsky says, before stalking out of the common room. He's the type to want the final word.

It's about as peaceful as their relationship is ever going to be.

Later, Blue and Adam head to the library. Adam takes the yearbooks and newspapers, and Blue takes the books on ghosts and necromancy since she has a pass to the Restricted Section from her mother.

They regroup after two hours to share their findings.

"Noah Czerny," Adam says, "Ravenclaw, Hogwarts Class of 1985. Or at least he would have been if he didn't disappear two months before graduating."

"Disappear?"

"Apparently, his classmates said that he ran off to Romania on a whim. His family posted a few missing notices in the papers, but they eventually gave up."

"Are they still around?"

"No. He was a halfblood. His parents were some of the first casualties in the Second Wizarding World."

Blue curses.

"Yeah. It's not news I'm particularly eager to share."

"You've found out more than I have," Blue offers. "I was right - there's no way he's an Inferi. He's not a Shade either because he responds and reacts to his environment. The closest thing he resembles is a poltergeist like Peeves. But Noah is more powerful. I've never heard of a ghost taking solid form."

"So we've got no explanation," Adam says.

Blue hesitates. "Well..."

"What is it?"

"This wasn't in any of the books. Just rumors and myths that I've heard, and some cryptic things Persephone has said," she warns him.

Adam gestures for her to continue.

"They say that Harry Potter took a magical artifact of great power with him to the forest. It protected him against Voldemort, and it had the ability to call up the dead. He's never confirmed anything, and nothing has ever been found. But...every witch or wizard has read Beedle the Bard's stories. If he really was the master of all three Deathly Hallows, then it's not such a miracle that he survived a second Avada Kedavra."

"Deathly Hallows?"

She elaborates, "The Elder Wand, the unbeatable wand. The Cloak of Invisibility - it's pretty common knowledge that Professor Potter actually owns one, though I don't know if it's the original one. And the Resurrection Stone, an artifact that can summon spirits. The person who owns all three of them becomes the Master of Death."

"If the Resurrection Stone is real and he left it in the Forbidden Forest, maybe someone picked it up. You think a Deathly Hallow would be enough to supercharge a ghost?"

"It's a Deathly Hallow. That's probably the least of what it can do," Blue says.

 


	11. Return to the Forbidden Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Gangsey's all here.

"You have to ask him," Blue says.

"What? No! Why can't you do it?" Adam protests.

"I don't know him that well."

"I thought you said you grew up around Hogwarts?"

"Harry Potter only joined as a professor a few years ago. But you know him, he's like your mentor figure!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is NOT!"

"Is-!" Blue takes a deep breath. "We're not doing this. Adam, we are better than 'is not, is too' exchanges. You're best friends with his godson, you're living in his ancestral home, you're talking to Professor Potter."

So Adam talks to Professor Potter. If he's being honest, it's not particularly out of character for him. Adam has continued the practice of lingering after classes as well as occasionally going to office hours.

He successfully steers the conversation in the direction of, "oh, magic is so amazing, is there anything that still surprised you?"

Harry talks about the Room of Requirement (Adam makes a mental note to check it out, even if it's no longer functional), house elf magic, the Mirror of Erised, and so on. Adam gets so absorbed in the conversation that he almost forgets about his mission.

But Harry provides the perfect segue when he mentions that certain popular Muggle stories hid encoded magical messages (who knew that Alice in Wonderland contained the secrets of dimensional travel?).

Adam says casually, "I've been reading the Tales of Beedle the Bard."

Harry instantly looks wary. "Oh?"

"The Tale of the Three Brothers and the Master of Death. Do you think the gifts really exist?"

Harry studies Adam for a long moment. "Who's to say? If magic is possible, I can't imagine its limits."

It's clear that he isn't going to divulge anything more, so Adam concedes the point.

Before he leaves, Harry calls after him one more time. "Adam? You're not involved with any crazy quests are you?"

Adam looks Harry in the eyes and lies with a smile.

 

 

They return to the Forbidden Forest the next night.

"Figures Professor Potter would be secretive about something like that," Blue grumbles.

"He was pretty cagey, but that just tells us that there's something to be cagey about. I think we can move forward with our initial hypothesis."

Blue gives him a look of respect. "I'm glad we sent you. You're really good with lies and deception and stuff."

"Is that a compliment?" he asks, amused.

They trudge on for a while more, following the marks on the trees that Blue carved with her pink dagger last time.

"Shh!" Blue says suddenly, throwing out an arm against his chest to stop him from moving forward. She tilts her head. "Are those voices?"

Voices...now that she mentions it, Adam can hear the sound of boys conversing. Probably other Hogwarts students, but just to be safe, he gestures at Blue to pull out her dagger. He too raises his wand at the ready.

They slowly make their way to the source of the noise. When they're only a few feet away, Adam can make out the ghostly figure of Noah and two shorter figures beside him.

"Gansey?" he says incredulously.

Gansey and Ronan whip around with their wands up.

"Adam!" says a surprised Gansey.

"Parrish," Ronan grunts, lowering his wand.

"It's you two again!" Noah says happily.

"What is going on here?" Blue exclaims, fed up.

Gansey finally notices her. "Hello! And who might you be?"

She bristles. "I asked first."

Ronan scoffs. "We don't have to tell you anything."

Gansey steps in to mediate. "No, of course, where are my manners? I'm Gansey and that's Ronan. We've been exploring unsolved Hogwarts mysteries, and recently there has been a rumor about a lost Hogwarts student wandering the Forbidden Forest. We came to see if it was true."

"Like Mythbusters," Adam says.

Gansey tilts his head in confusion. "Well, we don't necessarily 'bust' myths. We go in with no expectations, and it's quite interesting when the myth turns out to be real."

Noah raises his hand. "It's real this time!"

"We noticed," Ronan says.

"What about you two? How did you meet Noah?" Gansey inquires.

"You're friends with Kavinsky. You should know," Blue says to Ronan meanly.

Ronan looks a little uncomfortable. "Just a dumb bet, Gansey."

"A dumb bet that could have gotten us killed just so we could be treated with some human decency. But sure, feel free to downplay the fact that you're friends with a bigot and a bully," Adam says cuttingly. 

Blue looks impressed with his gall. Gansey looks horrified when he understands the situation. And Ronan? Ronan has no response.

Adam continues as if he hasn't just shoved the verbal equivalent of a serrated knife into Ronan's chest. "Anyway, Blue and I have done our research, and we have some theories."

"Theories?" Noah asks.

"About how you're unlike any dead being that's known to witches and wizards," Blue clarifies.

Noah gulps. "I don't like the d-word."

"How about unalive?" Ronan suggests.

"Existentially challenged?" Gansey offers.

Noah sighs. "I guess the d-word works."

"Dead, but powerful enough to interact with the living," Adam says. "Have you ever heard about the Deathly Hallows?"

History buff as Gansey is, he has. Surprisingly, so has Ronan.

"So, what are we going to do about this?" Ronan says.

"Tell a professor?" Gansey says hopefully.

"You want to tell a professor that we were trespassing in the Forbidden Forest after curfew?" Blue says.

"For now, we need to get back," Adam says, glancing up at the slowly pinkening sky. "Have you tested your range, Noah?"

"Huh?"

"Whether you can leave the Forbidden Forest," Adam clarifies. "It would be a lot easier to communicate if you could come to the castle with us. More ghosts for company too."

"If it really is the Deathly Hallows, you might have soaked it all up already. Hogwarts has enough magic in the air that it should help sustain you the way that I've been doing," Blue adds.

"Hogwarts..." Noah looks wistful, then determined. "Let's try it."


	12. Resolution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end of the Gansey's first adventure together.

Luckily, Blue's hypothesis proves to be correct. As soon as they step foot into the castle, a flush enters Noah's bone-white cheeks and the flickering edges of his profile settle completely.

"That's wonderful, Noah! But what do we do now?" Gansey questions, still looking a little shell-shocked at the revelation of Noah's unsolved murder. He's definitely found more than he bargained for tonight.

"We have to be up in five hours, so I suggest we all go back to our dorms and get some sleep. We can meet up later tonight," Adam says, practical to the very end. 

"Where?" Ronan interjects. "In case you haven't noticed, we're a pretty motley crew over here."

A Slytherin, a Hufflepuff, a Gryffindor, a former Ravenclaw, and someone House-less. Not a group that lends itself to one House's common room.

"How about," Adam remembers what Harry told him,"the Room of Requirement?"

"The what?" Gansey says. Blue and Noah seem similarly confused.

Ronan's eyes cut over to him sharply. "How did you -? Nevermind. We can't. The Room's been broken since the end of the war. Fiendfyre."

Blue shakes her head. "That sounds like an interesting story, but I'm too tired for it right now. We can meet at my mum's office. She's away at a conference in the States. After dinner work for everyone?"

They nod.  

"Are you going to be alright on your own?" Blue asks Noah.

Noah looks like he's been hit by a wave of nostalgia. "Yeah, I'm just going to walk around. It's been so long...I'll try to stay out of people's sight."

And so they go their separate ways.

 

 

Adam is a zombie for the rest of the day. The others aren't much better. The wattage of Gansey's smile is at an all-time low, Adam has to stop Blue from almost falling face-first into her soup at lunchtime, and Ronan is in a worse mood than usual.

Somehow, they all manage to hold out until their meeting.

Perched alarmingly close to a fragile-looking crystal ball, Gansey summarizes, "So we know that Noah disappeared in 1985. We're quite certain he was murdered, and we're quite certain it was either a student or teacher at Hogwarts. Have you been just wandering the Forbidden Forest for the last few decades?"

Noah, who had visibly flinched when Gansey said "murdered," answers, "My sense of time hasn't been the best since I woke up, but I don't think it's been that long."

"It probably hasn't. The rumors about you started this year. Professor Potter dropped the Resurrection Stone in the Forest in the Second War, and you've been probably soaking in its magic since then. Maybe you only soaked up enough to materialize recently," Adam theorizes. 

"So, what - we're going with the theory that Professor Potter is the Master of Death? And that Noah's a weird Death Hallows-boosted being?" Ronan says incredulously, as he pokes at the set of tarot cards on the table.

"Until you come up with a better explanation - yes," Blue says sharply. "And stop touching those!"

Adam interrupts before they get into another fight. "So what do we do about this?"

"Find the murderer?" Ronan offers.

Noah shudders. "No! No. I'm-I'm not ready. Can't we just let things be for now? I'm already really grateful that you guys found me."

Gansey, who has never been one to purposely leave a stone unturned, is unhappy but resigned. "It is your life. If that's what you want, we'll follow your decision on how to handle the situation."

Noah smiles sardonically. "Was my life, you mean. But yes. That's how I want things to be. I just want to hang out at Hogwarts, get used to being half-dead, half-alive, and figure out what the extent of my abilities are. I'll let you know if circumstances change."

None of them are happy about leaving the mystery unsolved and the murderer unmasked, but they accede to Noah's wishes.

 

 

Ghostly mutual friends, sharing life-and-death secrets, and a willingness to break curfew make a great basis for friendship.

Adam still doesn't like or understand Ronan, but he's comfortable in his presence. Along the same lines, Blue still thinks Gansey is a "privileged pureblood prick" but she smiles when she says it. 

Adam ends his first year at Hogwarts as the top student in his class. He's gained a mortal enemy in Kavinsky, a place to call home with Harry and Teddy, and unlikely friends in Blue, Gansey, Noah, and Ronan. 

Hopefully, next year will be a little less eventful.

(He doesn't know it yet, but that ends up being his resolution every year.

 

...Adam never quite manages it.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is definitely not the end of the Gangsey's adventures. However, I really don't have the patience to write out all seven years at Hogwarts, so I'll probably be posting more ficlets in the universe/timejumps to when Ronan and Adam are old enough for romance.

**Author's Note:**

> I love, love feedback on what I'm doing, so leave a comment if you can!


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